I vote June 12th!

[Mojo]

What better way to take my mind off of the subfreezing temps today than to look forward to June and SETTFest 2010!

June 12th is my first choice, followed by June 5th.

I will try very hard to actually bring tomatoes, as opposed to being a net consumer.

I will make a point of dragging Shelley and Roy along again.

[Suze]

Originally Posted by Mojo

I will try very hard to actually bring tomatoes, as opposed to being a net consumer.

I will make a point of dragging Shelley and Roy along again.

Excellent! I was thinking June 12 as well.

[snappybob]

I'll be at the Kerrville Folk Festival that weekend.

[Mojo]

Could we move SETTFest TO the Kerrville Folk Festival?

I for one could make a weekend out of that...

[sfmathews]

That would be sweet!

Originally Posted by Mojo

Could we move SETTFest TO the Kerrville Folk Festival?

I for one could make a weekend out of that...

[Suze]

Kerrville is a long drive for me - almost three hours because there is no decent direct route. Six hours of driving in one day would be too much to handle on top of doing the event set up which takes at least a couple of hours and also the time it takes to carefully pack the vehicle to the gills in the morning for tomatoes and all the supplies needed. I've found that packing a massive amount of tomatoes the night before in a warm vehicle in plastic sacks isn't advisable.

Basically, I'd have to get up at 4:00 am (or earlier) to be able to do it in Kerrville. Another thing to consider is we also have regular attendees that come from the Austin area and the metroplex that might not be willing to make a weekend of it in order to attend.

However, I'm open to other suggestions on where we can have the event other than Washington on the Brazos park just as long as it's not too far from me. That is, if someone can provide specifics, and help make the arrangements. (I'd need a firm commitment on help doing that.) Anything more than an hour and a half would be too far away. My drive now is about an hour and 15 min and it already feels "long" because of all the time and work involved beforehand to get ready.

One thing I will say about changing location, though - is that there are likely to be surprises. Just my experience. Are the restroom facilities sufficient (and clean), are there enough tables, is there electricity and water, any other things awaiting us that we didn't think through?

Btw, Morgan is currently splitting his time between NC and TX right now and will probably not be growing tomatoes this year. He will be at the event though, and is going to help with the set up as usual.

Another thing - I've been thinking lately that maybe June 12th is a little early, what with this cold winter we are having. Would June 19th work better? Also, June 5th is simply too soon for several of us if we're going to bring anything other than a few early tomatoes.

I'd personally feel more comfortable with June 19, but it is Father's Day weekend.

Open to ideas/thoughts.

[catwabbit]

My husband and I are planning to drive down from Fort Worth, and June 19th would be fine for us. What time do you usually plan to get started? If you could use a couple of extra hands for set up, we'd be happy to help out.

I'm dying to see and maybe try some of the tomatoes I've been reading about for so long. :-)

[Suze]

Originally Posted by catwabbit

My husband and I are planning to drive down from Fort Worth, and June 19th would be fine for us. What time do you usually plan to get started? If you could use a couple of extra hands for set up, we'd be happy to help out.

I'm dying to see and maybe try some of the tomatoes I've been reading about for so long. :-)

Last year, the tasting was 12:30 - 3pm - with a suggested time of arrival for set up at 11am. I think we'll probably do the same this year.

Morgan and I usually try to get there by 10 - 10:30 or so, because it takes us at least an hour just to get all the tomatoes we bring laid out on the tables. Then, it's another 30 min or so to do the rest - put out the supplies, get a couple of fans set up, etc. Then, we like to get the pictures taken of all the individual varieties right before the tasting starts. That way, we have time to just enjoy the tasting and chat with the other attendees.

Snappybob and his lovely wife have helped us in a major way every year with the clean up post-event, but more help with either set up or clean up is always welcome.

It's a good time - last year was a blast! It was great to see some familiar faces and also meet some new people. Hope to see you there, I think you'll really enjoy it.

[Mojo]

I hadn't realized how far Kerrville would be --and I also forgot that I would likely be traveling with a 3 year old. WotB is not a bad compromise for all involved.

The 19th might could work. I just hope it doesn't get hot early again.

[Worth1]

With my shift change I don’t have a clue as to when I will be home.
One thing for sure Folk music gets on my nerves. About one song and I’m outa here.
June 19 is June teenth and the parks will be full of celebrants’ for that little deal.
Suze If I’m home I’ll try to help no promises though.
Worth

[Mojo]

My wife is a descendant of Gen. Granger!

But that does disincentivize the 19th as a date. Back to the 12th!

[Suze]

Since Bob and his wife can't attend on the 12th, it's out for me. They've been at the event every year. And frankly, I just don't know what I'll have ready on the 12th. I think it would be okay, and I'd probably have quite a bit, but maybe not much for later season varieties. I'm probably going to be conservative on my planting date this year, as 200 plants are rather hard to protect and/or have backups for every single one.

Of course, it's not all about me - I just want to make sure we have enough good tomatoes available to taste at the event.

So, we're going to have to figure out something for the 19th. The 5th is too early, and the 26th is just too late I think for Houston people and others further south. Right? If not, speak up - because we could do it then I suppose. It's going to be hot for sure that late in June, though.

The pavillion at WotB gets reserved well in advance, so that shouldn't be a problem. It's ours and ours alone for the event, just as long as I make the arrangements on time and pay the fee.

The rationale for WotB has been that it's as central as we could make it for the most amount of people. Willing to consider other location options, if someone has ideas and will help with making the arrangements.

[snappybob]

WotB will likley be crowded on June 19th but as Suze pointed out, we will have a pavilion all to ourselves. The 26th would be OK with me also. I might even have more tomatoes at that time but that's just me. The June teenth issue DOES bring about a sort of sense of ungency if we want that park on that date. If we wait too long it may be booked.